呆若木鸡 - dai ruo mu ji - this is absolutely my favorite thing to say in Chinese. "Dumb as a wooden chicken." It says so much with so little. Why dumb as a chicken? And why a wooden chicken? ahhh... the mysteries of Chinese!
潜力可挖 - qian li ke wa - "qian" means hidden (specifically, submerged - 潜艇 means "submarine") "li" is power, and "wa" means to dig (plus, it is a fun word to say). So, the closest English equivalent is "untapped potential" - my Chinese teacher used it to refer to the Chinese economy. Another one of my favorite phrases.
勤能补拙 - qin neng bu zhuo - This began with a discussion of 勤奋 (qinfen - "diligence") and 刻苦 (keku - a word hard to translate into English, but which most closely means "hardworking") - these two words both being necessary to the successful study of the Chinese language. That is, unless you are stupid, in which case "qin neng bu zhuo" - which my Chinese teacher explained as "using hard work to make up for what is lacking in your brain." Or, starting a blog to help you study Chinese. hooray for 勤！
拭目以待 - shi mu yi dai - "wait and see." Also used in relation to the Chinese economy.
蒸蒸日上 - zheng zheng ri shang, 一日千里 - yi ri qian li - both mean "improving daily", both also used to describe the current state of the Chinese economy.
繁荣昌盛 - fan rong chang sheng - I actually forgot to write down the meaning of this in class, so just Googled it - one of the first hits was titled, "我国现在算是繁荣昌盛吗?" The meaning? "prosperous".
身监其境 / 身监体验 - shen jian qi jing / shen jian ti yan - your own personal experience. 我不会了解中国，因为没有这个。
鼠目寸光 - shu mu cun guang - "mice can only see an inch" - describes someone who is very narrow minded.
窥豹一斑 - kui bao yi ban - "look at a leopard (through a tube) and see only one spot" - get a general idea of something from only a small part. My favorite chengyus are the ones which involve animal characteristics, including...
骑虎难下 - qi hu nan xia - "once you start riding a tiger, it is hard to get off." Used by my Chinese teacher to describe the U.S. invasion of Iraq, specifically, timetables for troop withdrawal.
疑神疑鬼 - yi shen yi gui - to be afraid of your own shadow. Used by my teacher to describe hypochondriacs, and Americans who find it necessary to get vaccinated against all kinds of diseases before they go to China, like 甲肝 (Hepatitis A), 乙肝 (Hepatitis B), and my least favorite, 狂犬病 (rabies - "mad dog disease").
道貌岸然 - dao mao an ran - sanctimonious, holier than thou attitude. In my notes, this is followed by...
土拔鼠 - tu ba shu - groundhog. I have no idea where this juxtaposition came from. I think we were talking about dreams (though the dream about the groundhog wasn't mine). My awful dream is one where I find myself onstage, suddenly part of a school play, where I don't know my lines, and have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. As a result, I...
出洋相 - chu yang xiang - make an idiot of oneself. Literal translation: "act like a foreigner." I will have to remember this when I go to China, so I can tell people exactly why I don't want to sing karaoke.
Here ends the first installment. stay tuned for many more!
